Community Pharmacy Scheme for On Demand Availability of Drugs for Palliative Care CPS001

Description

CPV Code 85149000-5 applies - Pharmacy services, but not including community pharmacy services that are arranged under The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. This is a Primary Care Locally Commissioned Service entitled Community Pharmacy Scheme for the On Demand Availability of Drugs for Palliative Care (ODADPC). The service provides immediate and consistent access to palliative care medication across Surrey with the ultimate aim of providing the best level of End-of-Life care in the last weeks of a patient's life. The service supports patients to live and die in their place of choice and to reduce inappropriate admissions in the last weeks of life. Early warning is provided to Community Pharmacies from the Palliative Care Consultant, GP, District Nurse or Palliative Care Nurse about the type and volume of drugs the patient is using to enable appointed Community Pharmacies to be prepared for necessary prescriptions. The ODADPC LCS is not a service commissioned nationally by NHSE, and the service commissioned by Surrey Heartlands ICB is outside of Community Pharmacy's National contract. Therefore, a gap remains which Surrey Heartlands ICB fills using this LCS and which means the service falls within the scope of the PSR. Lot 1: Surrey Heartlands ICB intends to award a contract to an existing provider under Direct Award Process C for Community Pharmacy Scheme for On Demand Availability of Drugs for Palliative Care. This is a Primary Care Locally Commissioned Service which provides immediate and consistent access to palliative care medication across Surrey with the ultimate aim of providing the best level of End-of-Life care in the last weeks of a patient's life. The service supports patients to live and die in their place of choice and to reduce inappropriate admissions in the last weeks of life. Early warning is provided to Community Pharmacies from the Palliative Care Consultant, GP, District Nurse or Palliative Care Nurse about the type and volume of drugs the patient is using to enable appointed Community Pharmacies to be prepared for necessary prescriptions. The ODADPC LCS is not a service commissioned nationally by NHSE, and the service commissioned by Surrey Heartlands ICB is outside of Community Pharmacy's National contract. Therefore, a gap remains which Surrey Heartlands ICB fills using this LCS and which means the service falls within the scope of the PSR. The contract term is two years with a value of £2,100.00 from 1st April 2024 - 31st March 2026. Additional information: Direct Award Process C criteria are met for this service: (a) Direct Award Processes A or B are not applicable. (b) the term of an existing contract is due to expire and a new contract will replace it; contract terms and conditions remain the same bar two non-material adjustments: (i) A small service review financial increase from £1,000 paid annually to providers to £1,050 per year per provider over a two-year term. (ii) A new contract clause to state if the service is de-commissioned stock not used after 3 months of de-commissioning will be reimbursed by the commissioner up to the total original pack quantity as specified in the "minimum quantity held" within the service specification and contract. (c) the considerable change threshold is not met (d) Surrey Heartlands ICB believes the current provider is satisfying the existing contract to a sufficient standard according to the contract and taking into account the key criteria and basic selection criteria. (f) This will not be a framework agreement. Basic Selection Criteria, of equal importance, is applicable to the existing and proposed contracts. Assessment against Key Criteria undertaken in order of importance i.e. Key criteria 1 and 2 are weighted equally as most important followed by key criteria 3 and 4 being weighted equally, followed by key criteria 5 1. Improving access, reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice ensuring accessibility to services and treatments for all eligible patients, improving health inequalities and ensuring that patients have choice in respect of their health care • Service is specifically designed to support patients to live and die in their place of choice. • Choice and accessibility is provided to healthcare professionals from a location close to a patient's home. • Choice reduces inappropriate admissions in the last weeks of life and ensures a consistent and equal treatment approach for all. • Spot checks are performed during the contract period. • The proposed contract will replicate the existing contract. It is anticipated that performance will be maintained at the current high level of delivery or be enhanced. 2. Integration, collaboration and service sustainability the extent to which services can be provided in (i) an integrated way (including with other health care services, health-related services or social care services), (ii) a collaborative way (including with providers and with persons providing health-related services or social care services), and (iii) a sustainable way (which includes the stability of good quality health care services or service continuity of health care services), so as to improve health outcomes • Service is utilised by health care professionals collaboratively with patients, social care, carers, families and others involved in the care plan. • Service providers maintain strong collaborative working relationships with the individuals above. • Stock and dates are checked regularly and replaced when required. The service can be relied upon by healthcare workers and recipient patients. • Service supports integrating community pharmacy into neighbourhoods as a partner in delivering services collaboratively. 3. Quality & Innovation the need to ensure good quality services and the need to support the potential for the development and implementation of new or significantly improved services or processes that will improve the delivery of health care or health outcomes • The pharmacy contractor will maintain appropriate records to ensure effective ongoing service delivery. • The pharmacy contractor is required to submit an annual audit return form. • The pharmacy will review its standard operating procedures and the referral pathways for this service on a two-year basis. • The pharmacy is required to demonstrate that pharmacists and staff involved in the provision of the service have undertaken CPD relevant to this service. 4. Value the need to strive to achieve good value in terms of the balance of costs, overall benefits and the financial implications of a proposed contracting arrangement • Evidenced by contracting with a specified number of pharmacies for the guaranteed provision of these medications as opposed to the expense and potential waste of all pharmacies providing supply. • Financial savings realised from preventing unplanned hospital admission. 5. Social Value whether what is proposed might improve economic, social and environmental well-being in the geographical area relevant to a proposed contracting arrangement. • Supporting patients to stay at home enables family members and friends to visit to a greater extent than in a hospital setting, e.g. it is likely that visitors will have less travel miles and time to the patient's home coupled with visitors not having to pay for hospital parking to visit the patient, which could be prohibitive.